WEST UKRAINIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

 The fifth edition of the project "Public Diplomacy Studies" under the certificate program "European Studies: Diplomacy, Politics, Law, Economics, Communications" has started at B. Havrylyshyn Education and Research Institute of International Relations of WUNU. This is a unique European integration marathon that will last for 2 months (from March 15 to May 15, 2023).

The first speaker was Yuliia Lykhach, Director of the Higher School of Public Administration, Candidate of Science in Public Administration. During the meeting, the participants discussed European integration in the light of the experience of EU candidate countries.

Ms. Yuliia focused on the legal acts regulating the acquisition of the EU candidate status, mentioned the Maastricht Treaty (EU Treaty), the European Council Declaration in Copenhagen (Copenhagen criteria) and the framework agreements for negotiations with special conditions for each candidate state. The speaker also briefly described the main 5 stages of EU accession (consultation, assessment, negotiation, ratification, implementation) and 12 important steps in terms of the sequence of actions and the exercise of powers of individual EU institutions.

The discussion focused on the unique experience of the EU candidate countries. In particular, the participants examined the peculiarities of the integration process of Albania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey into the EU through the lens of diplomatic, political and economic dimensions. They also talked about Ukraine's European integration experience and its candidate status for EU membership.

The project is conducted in a mixed format. Participants include students and professors from Ukraine, as well as international students, civil servants and representatives of local governments. The project "European Studies: Diplomacy, Politics, Law, Economics, Communications" was initiated by the Center of Diplomacy, Security and Democracy (CDSD) of West Ukrainian National University. The project is implemented at the B. Havrylyshyn Education and Research Institute of International Relations in cooperation with the GDIP Media Center, the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the EU Standards, the Higher School of Public Administration of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service and the EU Information Center of WUNU.

We thank Yuliia Lykhach for her professionalism and constructive discussion!